Thank you for contacting the office of Hon Nicole McKee, Minister of
Courts, Associate Minister of Justice.
The Minister considers all correspondence important and appreciates you
taking the time to write. Please note that as Minister McKee receives a
large amount of correspondence it is not always possible to personally
reply to all emails.

The following guidelines apply:

* Portfolio related correspondence will be considered and responded to
where appropriate

* If your message is for Minister McKee’s advice, or if you have copied
your email to another Minister and/or Member of Parliament with more
appropriate portfolio responsibilities, then this will be noted

* Invitations and requests to meet with the Minister will be processed as
soon as possible and a staff member will be in contact with you in due
course. Please note this email is an acknowledgment that your
invitation/request has been received.

* If you have made a request for official information then this will be
managed in accordance with the provisions of the Official Information Act
1982, which may include transfer to a more relevant Minister or agency

* If your email falls outside of the Minister’s portfolio
responsibilities, expresses a personal view, or is copied to multiple
Members of Parliament, then your opinion will be noted and your
correspondence may be transferred to another office, or there may be no
further response to you

* Media queries will be referred to the Minister’s press secretary

Again, thank you for writing.

Office Hon Nicole McKee
Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice

Kia ora,
 
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act request dated Tuesday 25 November 2025. You have requested the following information:
 
""Newly released Official Information Act documents show the Ministry of Justice appointed Auckland man Fale Andrew Lesā as a Visiting Justice and Justice of the Peace without conducting reference checks or verifying the credentials he submitted with his application. Paula Penfold wades through the 142 pages of documents to find out what went wrong."

The news article mentioned a 142-page set of documents. I would like to formally request access to this OIA document that were released to the news agency. Thank you."

We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than Tuesday 23 December 2025, being 20 working days after the day your request was received in our office. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.
 
Kind regards,

 
Office of Hon Nicole McKee
Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Email: [email address]
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New Zealand
Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington
 
Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is prohibited and may be unlawful.
 

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Kia ora John,

 

On behalf of Hon Nicole McKee, thank you for your OIA request.

 

Your request is more closely aligned with the Ministry of Justice. In
these circumstances, we are required by section 14 of the Official
Information Act 1982 to transfer your request. Therefore, your OIA request
has been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

You will hear further from Ministry regarding your request.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

 
[1]A pink and
white emblem Office of Hon Nicole McKee
with two women
holding flags Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Description
automatically Email: [2][email address]
generated
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
New Zealand

Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

 

 

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Tēnā koe John,

We acknowledge receipt of your request transferred to the Ministry of
Justice, under the Official Information Act 1982. 

This has been forwarded onto the relevant business unit to respond to. 

The Ministry may publish the response to your request on our website, you
can expect that if your OIA is to be published that this will take place
at least 10 working days after it has been sent you. Your name and any
other personal information will be withheld under Section 9(2)(a) (protect
the privacy of natural persons). 

You can expect a response by 19 December 2025.

Ngā mihi nui,

 

Ministerial Services

   

Communications and Ministerial Services | Corporate Services

Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture [1]justice.govt.nz

 

 

From: Nicole McKee (MIN) <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 25 November 2025 3:50 pm
To: [FOI #32990 email]
Subject: RE: OIAC 158 - Official Information request - Ministry of Justice
appointed Auckland man Fale Andrew Lesā (ref: 128102)

 

Kia ora John,

 

On behalf of Hon Nicole McKee, thank you for your OIA request.

 

Your request is more closely aligned with the Ministry of Justice. In
these circumstances, we are required by section 14 of the Official
Information Act 1982 to transfer your request. Therefore, your OIA request
has been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.

You will hear further from Ministry regarding your request.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

 
[2]A pink and
white emblem Office of Hon Nicole McKee
with two women
holding flags Minister of Courts | Associate Minister of Justice
Description
automatically Email: [3][email address]
generated
Private Bag 18041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160,
New Zealand

Authorised by Hon. Nicole McKee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

 

Disclaimer: The information in this email (including attachments) is
confidential and may be legally privileged. If an addressing or
transmission error has misdirected this email, please notify the author by
replying to this email and destroy the message. If you are not the
intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution is
prohibited and may be unlawful.

 

 

 

 

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